FDA to investigate after report exposes euthanasia drug in dog food

Syringes of pentobarbital, an euthanasia agent typically used on cats, dogs and horses. (WJLA)

WASHINGTON (WJLA) - New Year’s Eve 2016 was no celebration for Nikki Mael and her family.

“Nobody should have to go through what we went through,” said Mael. “Nobody. Not fair. I mean, I would give anything to see Talula again.”

Within minutes of sharing a can of Evanger’s pet food among her five dogs, she was racing the lifeless animals to the emergency vet.

“They were falling over. They were running into the walls. They were convulsing,” said Mael.

The vets told her they weren’t sure what was going on, but that things didn’t look good. Hours later, devastating news.

“They said Talula wasn’t going to make it,” said Mael, choking back tears.

Desperate for answers, the family sent the remainder of the food to a specialized lab and drove Talulah’s lifeless body to a veterinary pathologist for a postmortem examination.

“Poisoning from the dog food. That’s what killed her,” said Mael.

But it wasn’t just any poison.

It was pentobarbital: A lethal drug, most commonly used to euthanize dogs, cats and some horses. The deadly toxin is never permitted to kill animals that are part of the food supply and would violate federal law if it was.

“Pet food violates federal law, is openly allowed by the FDA to violate federal law, billion dollar a year companies are making profit selling illegal adulterated products to unknowing consumers in the U.S. every day,” said Susan Thixton, a pet food consumer advocate who’s been studying and writing about the pet food industry for decades.

“Consumers have no information, “ said Thixton. “A consumer has to become a private detective to learn what’s really in their food.”

So WJLA decided to find out.

WJLA partnered with Ellipse Analytics, a lab that specializes in testing food for contaminants.

“I think you have a duty to understand what you’re selling to human beings and pets, and I think that the obligation is on you to understand what is, and is not, in your product,” said lab founder, Kevin Hicks.

WJLA tested 62 samples of wet dog food, across more than two-dozen brands for the euthanasia drug pentobarbital.

After months of tests and re-tests, one brand repeatedly came back positive for pentobarbital.

In total, we tested 15 cans of Gravy Train. Nine cans — 60 percent of the sample — were positive for pentobarbital. And while the levels detected were not lethal, under federal law they are also not permitted at any concentration.

Gravy Train is made by Big Heart Pet Foods and owned by Smucker’s. According to Neilsen data, it accounts for more than $40 million of the company’s annual revenue.

So how is pentobarbital, a drug not allowed to be used on animals or intended for food, getting into the food?

“It comes from euthanasia of animals using that euthanasia drug,” said Dr. Nicholas Dodman, chief scientific officer for The Center for Canine Behavior Studies and former director of the Animal Behavior Program at Tufts University. “So, these animals could be dogs, they could be cats, they could be horses - but how is it getting into the pet food? If they say it doesn’t come from dogs, cats and horses where does it come from? It doesn’t come from outer space.”

Dodman says the level of pentobarbital in the food is beside the point.

“Whether it’s doing something or nothing, what’s it doing there? Where did it come from? If they don’t like the explanation that it's coming from animals that have been euthanized, what is their explanation as to how it gets in?” asked Dodman.

We asked that question of both the FDA and Smucker’s as part of a request for an on-camera interview. Neither answered.

Smucker’s declined our request for an on-camera interview and declined to answer any of our questions we provided to them, but gave us a statement which in part, says “We launched and are conducting a thorough investigation, including working closely with our suppliers, to determine the accuracy of these results and the methodology used.”

The FDA, just a short distance from the WJLA studios, also declined repeated requests for an on-camera interview. Instead of speaking to us, and answering our questions, they suggested we contact the Pet Food Institute, which is the trade organization that represents 98 percent of the pet food industry. We asked them to reconsider that response to which they replied that it “will investigate the matter and take appropriate enforcement action.”

One possibility as to how pentobarbital is getting into food? Experts tell us animals that have been euthanized are picked up by renderers who process the carcasses - which may be blended into pet food.

In a 2004 report to Congress, sources for rendered materials were identified as, among other things, "dead animals from farms, animal shelters and other facilities."

Under federal law, these are adulterated ingredients.

Adulterated ingredients, which are defined partly as: “an animal which has died otherwise than by slaughter,” are illegal in all food for humans and animals.

Yet in its own compliance policy, the FDA acknowledges it is violating the law and states: “pet food consisting of material from diseased animals or animals which have died otherwise than by slaughter, which is in violation of 402(a)(5) …will be considered fit for animal consumption.”

“The FDA tells industry ‘Yeah, it’s a violation of law, but go ahead, we’re not going to do anything,’” said Thixton.

In a written request, we asked the FDA to explain its policy that is allowing adulterated ingredients into pet food.

They did not provide an answer.

As for Nikki Mael and her family, she says their confidence as consumers has been irreparably damaged. “I don't trust any dog food companies anymore. And reading that the law’s not enforced and it’s just kind of, ‘they do their own thing,’ I need to make sure that they’re eating human grade food.”

Since Talula’s death, Nikki’s been making pet food at home, so she knows exactly what’s in it. She’s also the lead on a class action lawsuit against Evanger’s, the company that made the food the FDA attributes to Talula’s death. We tested several cans of Evanger’s for our report and those cans came back negative.

“I miss Talula a lot. Not fair. But I hope that other animals can be saved by this,” said Mael.

If you want to contact the FDA, Smucker’s or Big Heart Brands regarding this issue: